At the Mercy of a Burning Coal

Disclaimer; This is my own work and I’m not making any money off of this.
Note: P.O.V’s are switched for a while in this chapter.


Glorfindel watched the two disagreeable girls’ ride away from him and across the river. They had refused his help and the help of his men…foolish mortals. They didn’t know the dangers.

“ I don’t know why you bother Glorfindel.” Said Maetherion, who had just come up behind him. He one of his subordinates, but also his closest friend. Glorfindel raised an eyebrow, “ It’s common courtesy ‘therion. Come, let us go on. We have only a little way to go before we reach Lorien.”

Maetherion snorted as they started walking back to camp, he ignored the last part of Glorfindel’s speech and said, “ Tackling that firebrand who held the knife to your throat was also common courtesy then.”

Glorfindel sighed; he still remembered how the curves of her body had fitted perfectly against his. She was lovely, as beautiful as his long lost love. Glorfindel could feel his heart breaking again. /Pull yourself together! She’s gone!/ He thought to himself, roughly shaking himself out of the reverie where he had remembered…remembered to much of what had happened that day. He pushed the memory of her death to the back of his mind.

Glorfindel’s face betrayed nothing of his emotions, he only said, “ By the Valar…what a sharp tongue that one possesses!” Maetherion smirked, “ It was enough to turn a man to stone if she put her mind to it, judging by what we heard.”

Glorfindel said, “ And the other was rather quiet. Strange match.” Maetherion shook his head, “ Perhaps not.” Glorfindel looked at his friend, but he refused to elaborate.

***
Lathwen winced and rolled onto her side. She cried out as a sharp pain stabbed her side. Fantastic…she had dozens of bruises from where that idiot of an elf…’Glorfindel’…had rudely attacked her and caused her to fall to the ground! That nasty immortal! She hated him now more than ever.

Lathwen opened her eyes and looked around, but it was hard to see in the dark. She remembered the wound from the arrow and quickly looked down at her hand…why wasn’t it bandaged? Didn’t these elves have any sense of mercy or pity? They were just going to let it bleed and get infected weren’t they! She gasped quietly as she saw that there was no scar or scratch at all! The wound had disappeared like it had never been there!

Lathwen looked around more thoroughly as her eyes got adjusted to the dark and she saw that Lily was lying on a bedroll on the opposite side of, what used to be, the fire. She herself was lying on the bedroll. Other elves were lying down a short distance away in a full circle around their prisoners. (Smart tactic if you didn’t want to let anyone get away.)

Lathwen shivered as she saw that some of the elves eyes were open as they slept…if that could even be called sleeping…perhaps it was meditating. Lathwen counted the elves…there were less than when they were first found. She frowned and watched as an elf suddenly appeared and shook another elf awake. She could hear them speaking in low tones before the just woken elf grabbed his weapons and headed off into the forest while the other lie down. Oh! The rest were keeping guard!

Lathwen bit her lip in annoyance…a nervous habit. She had known she and Lily couldn’t get away even if all of the elves were keeping guard…they were elves after all. That didn’t stop her from being tense and uneasy…something about these woods scared her and made her want to get to Lorien as soon as possible. A sense of mysterious unlimited power was infused in the very air surrounding them…a power that could easily smother them all in ten seconds flat.

Perhaps the power was coming from the elves? No…it was coming from the Lady and Lord of Lothlorien. A sense of awe came over Lathwen as she remembered what the lady had said to her…had the she said anything to Lily? Had the lady actually said anything at all or was she hallucinating? Lathwen snorted softly to herself and settled on the latter.

Of course she was hallucinating or something like it…hadn’t she fainted after she heard the voice? It was a combination of loss of blood, fatigue, pain, and hunger that had caused her to start hearing things and then faint. That had to be the solution, there was no possible way anyone could speak inside of someone else’s head…was there?

Lathwen came out of her trance to find that it was dawn already, and the elves were packing up camp. She leaned across the fire and shook Lily’s shoulder, “ Hey, wake up…we need to go.”

Lily rolled over with a groan and sat up, her curls in disarray. She yawned and rubbed her eyes, looking around. She spotted Lathwen and said, “ You’re awake!” Lathwen must have looked confused because Lily went on, “ You slept right through the rest of the night and the next day. I was honestly starting to worry.” Lathwen rolled her eyes and smiled slightly at Lily’s teasing tone, “ Apparently I faint easily.”

She stood up and rolled the bedroll up, Lily doing the same. “ Who do these belong to?” Lathwen asked. Lily shrugged, “ I don’t know.” Lathwen spied the leader who had been interrogating them before and strode over with Lily. She tapped him on the shoulder.

He turned with an upraised eyebrow. /Arrogant elves/ Lathwen thought, but said, “ Thank you for letting us use these.” His eyes softened and he nodded, calling something out to an elf that was examining another elf’s injury…an arrow wound in the shoulder.

The healer elf looked over his shoulder and said something to the patient before standing up and jogging over to his captain. The leader said, “ They are his.” Lathwen smiled at the healer and handed him the bedroll. “ Thank you.” She said. The elf smiled pleasantly and nodded. /Aha…not all elves are stuck up then./

***
The group of elves and the two humans had journeyed for a good part of the day. Weary and footsore, Lathwen had been silent the whole day; Lily however, was conversing with the healer elf, talking animatedly. Lathwen had been to mesmerize by the abundant wildlife and the rich array of plants to talk to anyone. But even that got tiresome.

Lathwen tapped the shoulder of the leader who was in front of her. He slowed his pace until he and Lathwen were walking side by side. “ How much further to Lorien?” She questioned. “ Not far. Are you weary?” Came the reply. Lathwen shook her head; “ I’ve traveled at a faster pace before and without any stops to rest. But could you tell me something?” The leader waited patiently. Lathwen asked, “ What is your name?”
“ Nestaron.”
“ Nestaron…could you tell me anything about Glorfindel of Imladris?”

Nestaron smirked, “ Ah, so you met him at Imladris…many a maiden becomes entranced at the sight of him.” Lathwen snorted, “ Not I. It just so happens that my companion was surprised when he announced his name and I had not idea why. He was just another elf to me.”

Nestaron raised an eyebrow in amazement and said, “ Just another elf? Alanessa, he fought in a great war in Gondolin and slew a balrong! No mean feat. But he to died, and was kept in the Halls of Waiting so he could return to Arda.” Nestaron spread his arms, “ So here he remains. It is a long tale Alanessa, but one worth telling…it is disappointing that you do not know the story and that I do not have time to tell it.”

“ Alanessa, Lillian, welcome to Lothlorien.”

Lathwen heard Lily gasp, she herself had to bite her tongue to stop from exclaiming. It was beautiful in an eerie, ethereal way.

The huge trees got even larger here, and delicate, beautifully wrought staircases circled around the trees’ trunks’, going from tree to tree, lacing especially around rather large ones which had a small house-like structure on it. Lathwen overheard Lily ask the healer, “ What are the buildings atop the trees called?”
“ We call them talans…each being here has their own or shares one with a family.”
“ It’s amazing! Are those staircases safe though?”
“ Perfectly. They were built long ago.”
“ What a comforting thought.”
“ Pardon?”
“ Nothing, its just where we come from, structures get weaker and less durable as they get older.”
“ Ah. I see.”

Lathwen smiled slightly, she agreed with Lily, everything was rather beautiful. The staircases, like the trees, gave of a certain glow. All of the plants and trees looked healthy and happy…the construction of the buildings was still strong after hundreds of years most likely…elves were beginning to get better in Lathwen’s eyes. Except for Glorfindel. /Do his close friends actually call him ‘Glorfy’?/ Lathwen wondered for lack of anything better to think of. The splendor of this place had blown all thoughts away from her mind.

Nestaron led them further into Lothlorien, stopping only when the group stood under a particularly large silver barked tree. He said something in elvish and suddenly, all of the other elves in the company departed, going back to their stations, Lathwen guessed. Soon it was only he, another strange elf, and the healer that were left. The strange elf led Rosethorn and Wildfire by the reins and whispered to them in elvish, urging them to follow him.

“ Do not fear, Ridhion is only bringing them to the stables to be fed and taken care of.” Nestaron had assured them.

Nestaron motioned for the humans to follow him. He began climbing the staircase that twisted around the trunk. Lathwen followed Lily, the healer elf behind them all. The climb seemed endless to Lathwen, she was soon breathing hard along with Lily.

One time Lathwen made the mistake of looking down to the forest floor. The sight made her dizzy…they were this high up already?! Lathwen stopped looking and calmed her queasy stomach. She continued climbing even though her saddle sore thighs were burning. “ We are close, take heart.” Said the healer elf behind her. Lathwen looked over her shoulder and nodded to him. /Dear gods! *What* do they feed these elves?!/

At long last the four came to the top of the tree where a structure with an open door stood. There were two guards on each side of the door, and they stared straight ahead as Nestaron led the others inside.

There was nothing in the room save for a raised dais on which sat two thrones. Upon the thrones sat a lady and a man, who stood upon their entry. Lathwen felt faint as their gazes fell upon her and Lily, for Nestaron and the healer had left already.

The lady was dressed in white, a silver girdle at her waist. Her long silverish-blonde hair shimmered and was adorned with a simple tiara. Her face was young, but looking into her eyes, Lathwen could see the sadness and secrecy of an ancient woman. The lord (she assumed he was the lord) had a more tranquil and remote look to his features, but his eyes held the pain of many ages of war and suffering. He wore a silver tunic with a blue overcoat, but nothing ornamented his long blonde hair.

The lady stepped forward and said in a musical voice, “ Welcome Lillian and Alanessa. No doubt you both know who I am?” Lily nodded, for Lathwen was still in a state of shock. “ Yes my lady, or at least, I think we know who you are. Are you the Lady Galadriel and Lord Celeborn your guards spoke of?”

A small smile came to the lady’s lips, and she said, “ We are. And just as our March Warden, Nestaron wondered, we would like to know what brings you here.” Lathwen’s tongue seemed to be loosened at that moment, for she said, “ We are traveling to Gondor and have stopped here to ask for your hospitality.”

Lady Galadriel nodded with a knowledgeable air, as if she already knew everything that was, or would be, spoken. “ Your kin weren’t loving I see. And what sort of hospitality are you in need of?” Lily answered in a shocked voice, “ Just a replenishing of food and water is all my lady.”

Lathwen hurriedly added, “ My lady, can we ask a favor of you?” Lady Galadriel nodded, “ What is it young one?”

Lathwen said, “ Being two maidens traveling alone without any men or guards, we are obviously objects of curiosity. Could you and my lord not mention us, but leave the elves to find us out if they want to? We are just servants my lady, and we don’t want a big fuss. So please, don’t mention anything about us.” (Lathwen was skating on thin ice, not telling her real name and not revealing much about her personal life…but if the lady knew more than Lathwen and Lily had told, she didn’t show it.)

Lady Galadriel nodded slowly, “ I believe we can do that for you.” Lily asked, “ My lady, are there any jobs we could do around here? We both can cook and clean and wash and whatnot, and we hate feeling useless…” “ I love children!” Lathwen volunteered, “ And gardening.” Lily nodded emphatically, “ I like gardening also. Please my lady…it would make us both very content along with your community.”

Lady Galadriel seemed to consider it, “ If you both want to do it,” She said slowly, “ And you are doing it of your own free will, then I do not see how I could possibly object.” Lathwen flashed a smile and Lily grinned. The lady held up her hand in farewell, “ You may go. Nestaron will lead you to your quarters.” Lathwen curtsied as best she could without a dress on, and Lily did the same. “ Thank you my lady.” Lathwen said. Lily nodded, “ Thank you very much.” Nestaron appeared at the doorway and motioned for the girls’ to follow him.

“ Did you hear anything?” Lily asked him once they were outside and once again, walking up and down dizzying staircases. Nestaron gave her a puzzled glance, “ No…I was with Ridhion in the stables. Did you want me to hear anything?” Lily shrugged and said lightly, “ Just wondering. I’ve heard elves have keen hearing.” She made this sound lighthearted and innocently curious, but Lathwen knew her better. She wondered if any elves had heard and would ruin their game.

“ The guards outside the door did not hear either.” Nestaron went on, “ The lady knows many things, not only how to keep words from others ears.” Lathwen shivered…Lady Galadriel was a sorceress? That was somewhat frightening.

Lathwen remained silent as Nestaron continued leading them to the edge of the many talans where an empty one waited. Nestaron opened the door and said, “ I hope you ladies will be comfortable here…Sarethiel will be by soon to attend to you. Farewell for now.” He strode away silently, his feet not making any sounds.

Lathwen squinted in the morning sun as she watched him go. She shrugged and motioned for Lily to go inside. Lathwen smiled as she saw the simple but beautifully furnished room.


On the far wall underneath a window was a bookcase stuffed full with gilded books and a writing desk with ink and a quill already provided. On the right wall was a bed, and at the left, was a wardrobe that Lily flung open and critically eyed the many dresses and tunics. At the wall opposite from the bookcase and desk was a cot, which hung in front of another window, the sunlight streaming onto the floor.

Lathwen sighed and flopped down onto the cot, gently swinging back and forth. “ This is the first time I’ve ever had anything this nice.” She said absentmindedly. Lily nodded in agreement, “ It’s a lovely place to stay.” Lathwen let her eyes wander about the room again, but this time, she noticed something else. On the wall next to the wardrobe was a door. Lathwen slipped off of the cot and walked over to it, pulling it open. She gasped, “ Lily! Look!”

Lily closed the mahogany wardrobe and stepped into the room along with Lathwen. There was a delicate looking porcelain tub, which was hollowed out of the floor. Nearby was a rack on which hung towels and washcloths. Next to the rack was a low stool, which had soaps and bath oils standing on it. A small window was in the corner, letting in light.

Lily turned to Lathwen with a grin, “ This is something I could get used to.”